The feature described in this article will disappear with the sunset of the desktop apps on January 10, 2022. You can set up the new Emergency Kit solution as described in our step-by-step Emergency Kit guide or Emergency Kit video.
Perhaps you want to make sure that a friend or family member can access your passwords should something happen to you. Perhaps you wish to allow colleagues access to some of your data in case you can't be reached. Or you're simply worried you'll forget your Master Password, and want to give limited backup access to another user whom you trust.
Dashlane's Emergency feature allows you to choose another Dashlane user who can request emergency access to your data. When they do, you'll be notified, and asked if you want to grant that person access. If you don't respond before the end of the defined waiting period, your Emergency contact will be given access to the passwords and Secure Notes that you chose to share.
See these instructions for:
- How to add an emergency contact
- How to become an emergency contact, and request access to another user's data
Also, below are answers to some common questions about the feature.
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How does it work? Do I need to give my contact my Master Password?
No. You never share your Master Password, and the Emergency feature is no exception.
What allows the feature to work is the cryptographic magic of public and private keys. Each Dashlane user has both when their account is created—the public key only locks data, and can be shared. The private key only unlocks data and is kept secret.
Let’s imagine that Adam requests that his friend Betty become an emergency contact. Betty accepts, and later she requests access to Adam’s account. A copy of Adam’s data is locked using Betty’s public key. So long as Betty satisfies the conditions Adam defined when he set up the feature, she is given that encrypted copy of Adam’s data. Betty (and only Betty) has the private key needed to unlock her copy of Adam’s data.
Does my emergency contact need to have Dashlane?
Yes. Your emergency contact must have a Dashlane account for the feature to work. If they don't already have Dashlane, they will have to install Dashlane and must accept the request within the app.
Do I need to be Premium to use the Emergency feature?
No. Anyone with a Dashlane account, Free or Premium, can use the Emergency feature.
What data can be shared?
Your emergency contacts can be given read-only access to all or only some of your passwords and Secure Notes. Receipts, Payments, Personal Info, or IDs are not included in Emergency access.
Is the Emergency feature available on mobile?
No. To use the feature you must do so through our desktop application. We apologize for the inconvenience. We intend to bring the feature back to Android and iOS in the future, along with other improvements to your mobile experience.